VOL. LXXXVI 
AUGUST, 1916 
No. 8 
SEASON OF THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN 
A GAME BIRD THE QUALITIES OF WHICH HAVE ATTRACTED HUNTERS SINCE 
THE FOUNDATION OF THE REPUBLIC - STILL SURPRISINGLY PLENTIFUL 
By William Bruette. 
T HE pinnated grouse, commonly known as 
the prairie chicken, is the most conspicuous 
member of the grouse family, and has been 
more intimately associated with the development 
of our country than any other game bird. 
“Whither thou goest, I will go, your people shall 
be my people,” said the prairie chicken, and fol¬ 
lowed the white-top wagons of American pio¬ 
neers from the plains 
of Long Island to the 
mists of the Pacific. In 
the course of this pil¬ 
grimage, these birds have 
furnished the sports¬ 
men and settlers of sev¬ 
eral generations more 
sport and toothsome 
food than any game 
bird with which the Cre¬ 
ator has blessed this 
country. In return they 
have been pursued with 
a relentless savagery 
and a disregard of con¬ 
sequence paralleled only 
by the story of the buf¬ 
falo. 
The pinnated grouse, 
although he loves the 
broad spaces where vi¬ 
sion and flight are un¬ 
trammeled, is not a bird 
of solitude, but is hap¬ 
piest and thrives best 
upon the edges of civili¬ 
zation in new countries 
where the plough has 
only broken into the grasses of the prairie here 
and there, and where there yet remain the virgin 
sod on which to woo his mate and raise his little 
ones. Here the nests are made and here the long 
days of summer are hapoily wiled away pursuing 
grasshoppers and other insects. Then when the 
grain falls before the reaper and the cool days 
of autumn kill off the insects, the birds become 
the gleaners of the wheat fields, and in the sharp¬ 
ened air of the northland soon wax strong of 
wing and keen of sense, for although the simplest 
of birds when young, none learn more rapidly 
how to protect themselves against enemies, and 
they become strong enough to face the snows and 
blizzards of winter. 
The prairie chicken is a larger bird than the 
ruffed grouse, light brown in color, beautifully 
An Old-Fashioned Prairie Chicken Shooting Outfit. 
barred on the breast and spotted on the back 
with dark brown. Their distinguishing feature 
is a row of stiff feathers which decorate the neck 
and two yellow sacks on the side, which they 
have the power of inflating at will. 
Prairie chickens have some peculiar ways. 
One that has been subject of much comment is 
their habit of gathering on some knoll, where 
the vegetation is scarce, and going through all 
the forms of dancing the minuet, scattering 
about on the short turf, nodding their heads at 
one another, and going through the figure which 
in a country dance is known as a “cross over,” 
with “back to places,” uttering meanwhile a short 
cooing note, the last syllable much elongated. 
Then they salute partners and keep up the merri¬ 
ment for hours at a time. There is a close rela¬ 
tive of the prairie chick¬ 
en known as the sharp- 
tail grouse. These birds 
live on the same prairies, 
feed on the same food, 
and associate amiably. 
The sharptails derive 
their name from two 
middle feathers in the 
tail extending beyond the 
others, thereby forming 
a long pointed tail in 
contra-distinction to the 
square tail of the prairie 
chicken or pinnated 
grouse proper. There is 
little or no difference in 
the size of these birds, 
but in color the sharp- 
tail is much lighter, and 
instead of dark brown 
bars on its breast, it has 
little V-shaped spots of 
a light, ashy brown color, 
and is also feathered 
down to the first joint 
of the toe. The flesh is 
somewhat lighter than 
that of the prairie chick¬ 
en and more delicate in flavor. It may be men¬ 
tioned that the sharp-tail bird usually displays a 
preference for the willows and heavy shrubbery, 
and, as a rule, lie much closer to dogs, and when 
training young dogs, more definite point work 
can be obtained than on the square tails. 
The sharp-tailed birds also have the dancing 
habit more highly developed than the pinnated 
grouse. It is not related with the mating instinct. 
